


By Any Other Name

by Deonara2012



Category: DBSK|Tohoshinki|TVXQ, Super Junior
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-27
Updated: 2013-04-27
Packaged: 2017-12-09 17:59:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/776352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deonara2012/pseuds/Deonara2012
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yesung wakes up in another oubliette. And this time, he finds out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By Any Other Name

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine, not true.
> 
> My friend came up with this universe, giving each of the boys from Super Junior and TVXQ mutant powers. She said I could play in it, so I am. And we added girls.
> 
> Associated with: [Rescue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/655023) and (loosely) [Releasing Tension](http://archiveofourown.org/works/775343).

Yesung woke up with a headache and something foul in his mouth, and groaned. It echoed around him so loudly that he clapped his hands to his ears, eyes open wide.

He didn't know how, or who, or why, but someone had put him back in that oubliette. No… they'd put him in another one. This one was bigger, at least, but there were other things he couldn't put his finger on.

He still wore his clothes - thankfully - if not his shoes, but heavy leather manacles encircled his wrists and ankles. He had a heavy collar at his throat, too, with a… leash, hooked to the ring in the middle of the floor.

The foul thing in his mouth was more leather, and there was no way he could do much more than groan through it. His scream would be impossible - even if he wanted to try to use it, which he didn't. But his fingers found no way to loosen it or get it off, and he finally gave up.

Besides, even the ceiling above the oubliette looked different, and he suspected he wouldn't be found so easily this time.

Slowly and carefully, he slid down to clasp his knees to his chest - he'd wait to fly until after he'd gotten unhooked - and tried to work out how to get the manacles off. He couldn't see buckles or any other way the manacles stayed on. Failing that, he felt for something that might release his collar at his throat. As far as he could tell, even the rope was part of the collar. In fact, when he inspected the end in the ring at the bottom, he had no idea how the rope had gotten on there. Or how they'd get it off.

They didn't plan to leave him here to die, did they?

He stood up, the rustling of his clothes unnaturally loud, and began to explore the walls - wall? - of his prison. It was smooth under his fingertips almost all the way around (not that he could tell where he'd started), and then he felt small bumps, parallel lines that went almost to the bottom, and up as high as he could reach, and about as wide as his shoulders. He found nothing else.

He carefully slid down again, trying not to make much noise, and just sat, making himself as comfortable as possible. After a while, he closed his eyes and relaxed a bit more.

A sharp clang startled him out of his doze, and he stared at the ladder in front of him. It stayed firm against the wall… right where he'd found the two bumps. So that's what those were for. He started to get up, and then remembered the tether. But when he looked down, it swung free.

Huh? Well, he could fly. Presumably, someone could make it look like something was seamless when it wasn't.

Free. He focused on up only to find, as before, that he couldn't get off the ground. He scowled and started up the ladder because he didn't want to stay down there.

As soon as he got near the top, a man reached in and grabbed the rope attached to the collar; the rope wrapped itself around his arm. The man didn't tug, though, allowing Yesung to climb out at his own pace. The man didn't speak until they had moved away from the oubliette.

"I see you learned quickly," the man said. "Now, listen to me. Don't try that scream of yours anywhere but where I tell you. Otherwise I'll make it so your every move is loud down there." He gestured back toward the oubliette. "You won't get anywhere without me, so knocking me out won't help you. Clear?"

Yesung narrowed his eyes, but he remembered what it had been like in the last one. He nodded his agreement. The man reached around to the back of his head, did… something to loosen the leather, and then pulled the gag out of Yesung's mouth.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Yesung demanded as soon as he could.

"My name is Bae. It's enough for my purposes. What I want is to get revenge."

Bae. Yesung didn't know a Bae. "On who?"

Bae smiled. "It's not important. You are the most important part of helping me accomplish my goal."

Yesung stepped back and shook his head. "No. I won't."

Now Bae tugged on the leash. "You don't have a choice."

Yesung staggered forward and nearly fell at the man's feet. "There's always a choice," he said, straightening.

Bae smirked. "All I have to do is point you in the right direction."

Yesung shook his head. "No. I won't."

Someone grabbed his arms as he started to swing at Bae, pinning his wrists together behind him. He heard a double click, and the manacles stayed together when the unseen man let him go. Nothing he did released his wrists.

"You can't get out of that," the stranger said behind him. "You can't get free."

Yesung started to turn, and Bae tugged on the rope again. "We're going to take you for a trial run, something… small. Oh," he added. "Don't forget. No scream but where I tell you."

Yesung stared at him.

"Don't think I don't mean it," Bae warned him. "And flying won't work. One of my compatriots has his whole attention on keeping you grounded."

Yesung stepped back again. "No. I'm not going to help you."

Bae smiled and turned away. "You don't have a choice."

Yesung could only follow at the tug on the collar; no matter how he tried, he could not get Bae to stop. By the time they reached the van, he was sweating and out of breath.

The second man picked him up and put him in a seat in the back. and fastened the seat belt for him. "Don't move."

Yesung glared at him, then relaxed as much as he could, conserving his strength for the next fight. He couldn't do anything right now, anyway.

The drive didn't take long, and then the stranger got him out again.

He didn't recognize the area or the house they'd parked in front of. "Good," Bae said, coming around the other side of the van. "See that car?" He pointed to the car parked in the driveway. "Shatter the windows."

Yesung looked at him. "No."

Bae smiled. "I thought you'd say that."

Whatever held his wrists together released - although Bae still held the rope attached to the collar. "Hm," he said, and looked around. "That tree will work." He wrapped the rope around the tree, heavy with apples, and it fastened - Yesung couldn't see how - before Yesung had a chance to struggle away. He gripped the rope, tugging futilely to get free. Then he froze, brow furrowed, and turned to look at Bae.

Bae smiled. "The car."

The manacles on his wrists and ankles had begun to heat up, or something. It hurt. "No," Yesung said.

"The car," Bae repeated, just as serenely.

"No!" The pain increased and Yesung clenched his teeth on the scream that clawed at his throat.

Bae moved around him to stand behind him, then steely fingers gripped his head, pointing him toward the car. Yesung struggled but couldn't break free, fingers clawing at the manacles on his wrists as the burning increased. "Just open your mouth and let it out," Bae said softly in his ear. "Do that and the pain will stop."

Yesung tried to shake his head, but couldn't move it. He didn't dare try to answer, afraid of what would come out. His wrists and ankles burned, the pain unbearable, and he finally couldn't stand it any more. He screamed.

The windows on the car shattered, as did the house windows closest to it. Bae let him go, and the pain eased. Yesung barely noticed. He collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. "See?" Bae said. "I just have to point you in the right direction."

The unknown man pulled Yesung to his feet and walked him back to the van, hauled him in, and buckled his seat belt.

It took about half way back to the oubliette before Yesung's breathing evened out again.

 

"What do you mean, you haven't heard from him?" Kibum demanded.

ShinDong lifted an eyebrow. "He doesn't tell me every time he leaves," he said. "And he doesn't always answer his phone. Why do you think this is different than every other time he's taken off?"

Kibum shrugged, calming down. "I don't know," he said. "It just… something feels off."

"Nothing's felt right since they threatened to close down the school," Narsha said as she joined them, and ShinDong figured the discussion about Yesung had brought her over (and he had to wonder if Yesung was the only one that didn't know how much she liked him). "I swear, JaeJoong has been trying to keep to himself as much as he can. I think he's afraid of what he might see."

"Shit!"

They all turned to stare at the teacher's 'lounge' - more a mirror of the student's game room than a typical teacher's lounge - startled. HeeChul was volatile, but he rarely cursed.

"What?" ShinDong called.

HeeChul appeared at the door. "Have any of you seen Yesung? Or heard from him?"

All three shook their heads. "We were just talking about that," Kibum said. "Why?"

"Some business man's car had its windows shattered. All at once. And a couple of the windows on the house, too. One of the employees reported hearing a scream at the same time."

"That's… not good," Kibum said. "I haven't been able to reach him, but my range isn't good."

"He's not answering his phone," ShinDong reported.

"Let's talk to Miryo. She might be able to tell us where he is. Or, where his phone is, anyway," Narsha said.

"It's a place to start," ShinDong said. "And then maybe we can get SoYoung to track it."

"I'll talk to Miryo," Narsha said, and took off at a run.

"I'll talk to Director Lee," Kibum said, and ran off in the opposite direction.

 

By the time they arrived back … wherever, Yesung had dozed off. He'd long ago discovered that fighting his scream took more out of him than letting it go (which could also wear him out), and he'd struggled to increase his stamina. The reaction, though, generally knocked him out. He couldn't tell any difference, even if HeeChul and ShinDong said he'd improved.

That meant he moved slowly down the ladder. He missed a rung and slipped, falling down the last little way to crash into the bottom of the oubliette. He lay there, aching, ears ringing, too tired to even notice when the rope fastened itself to the ring or when the ladder got pulled up. He'd fallen asleep before it even cleared the top.

When he woke up, he hurt. His wrists and ankles still burned, if not as bad, and his head felt like he'd stood inside a church bell tower at noon. On Christmas. Moving hurt, so he stopped as soon as he figured that out, and eventually fell back to sleep.

The next time he woke up, he could smell food. Slowly, he opened his eyes - the nap hadn't helped his head - and stared at the tray in front of him. It took a while to get himself more or less upright, and he leaned against the wall behind him.

The water tasted good, and he gulped it down. Not enough. The sandwich he ate slower, and not even half before he set it down again. He lay back against the wall, still tired, and closed his eyes.

They wouldn't have missed the news report. Hopefully, someone would see, would know, would start a search.

Please.

The ladder clanged down a while later, and Yesung looked up. Bae beckoned to him, so he got to his feet unsteadily and began to climb. As he got near the top, again, Bae took the rope, adding some stability. "You don't look so good," he said, once they'd gotten away from the oubliette.

"Thirsty," Yesung said.

"Sit," Bae told him.

Yesung did so, dropping to the ground with his back against an I-beam. The rope left Bae's arm and curled around the metal, and Yesung didn't care, still drained.

Bae returned a moment later with a bottle of water and Yesung gulped it down. By the time he'd finished it, he felt better.

Apparently he looked better, too, because Bae smiled. "Good. I have more for you to do."

Yesung looked up at him. "More?"

"Yes." Bae pulled Yesung to his feet, the rope releasing him from the I-beam - but it immediately wrapped itself around Bae's arm. Yesung didn't expect any different, but he fought anyway, even as the still nameless mutant pinned his arms behind him. Yesung even managed to kick him - and got a blow to the head.

"Why do you fight?" Bae asked, when the ringing in Yesung's ears stopped.

"Because I don't want to do this," Yesung grit out, his teeth clenched. Not a good start.

"What you want is unimportant," Bae told him and started toward the van again. Yesung tried to stop, but as before, found himself buckled into the seat again.

He had no reason to expect anything to happen differently, and tried to brace himself. It was a good thing this… Bae didn't know that if he wanted Yesung to scream, surprise worked best.

The area where they got him out was a bit more populated, but still fairly upper class and another (if smaller) private residence. Only this time Bae brought him closer, within the gate.

Unlocked? How?

"The house, this time," Bae said, once he'd tethered Yesung to another tree.

"Is there someone in it?"

Bae smiled at him. "That doesn't matter. I want that as destroyed as that scream of yours can make it."

Yesung didn't look at the house, even when Bae gestured at it. "It matters. I don't want to hurt some innocent person."

"No one in that house is innocent," Bae said bitterly, and before Yesung could even open his mouth to protest, his wrists and ankles started to burn. He clenched his teeth as the pain built up, fighting the scream clawing at his throat.

Bae moved out of sight, but Yesung didn't notice until those steely fingers turned his head toward the house. He couldn't fight both and concentrated on his scream, trying to keep it in. He didn't know how long it took until the pain grew so bad he couldn't keep quiet any more.

When he got it back under control, collapsed on hands and knees and struggling for breath, the house collapsed forward. The front supports had been sufficiently weakened.

"Good," Bae said, and then the unnamed mutant lifted Yesung to his feet again. His wrists and ankles burned, worse than before, but had begun to cool already. It didn't help. He didn't resist as the man put him back in the van.

This time, the unnamed mutant was prepared, and offered him water until he stopped gulping it down. By the time they'd arrived at the warehouse, Yesung had fallen into a daze. He barely noticed that Bae's friend carried him down the ladder, but he didn't miss Bae's words.

"Just one more," his captor said, fingers hovering just above Yesung's cheek. "Soon it'll be over."

Yesung closed his eyes.

 

"Another one!" Ryeowook yelled, and the conversation in the hallway stopped.

SoYoung followed Narsha into the teacher's lounge, keeping an eye on her. She looked nervous. Worried.

Nothing they'd tried before had worked. SoYoung could have taken them to the house, but they already knew Yesung wasn't there. Miryo hadn't been able to do anything with his phone; he'd actually left it behind. ShinDong had muttered that he'd talk to Yesung about that, the next time he saw him. Kibum had tried to find Yesung until he nearly collapsed, and ChangMin had firmly put him to bed.

"Where?" HeeChul demanded, looking in.

"They haven't said," Ryeowook said.

"It belongs to the same man," Zhou Mi said.

ShinDong joined HeeChul in the doorway as Narsha stiffened. "The same man?" she asked. "What business?"

"You think that's next?" ShinDong asked.

"It'll give us a place to start," Narsha said. "And give us an idea about who should go and get him back."

 

Yesung didn't hear the ladder, but he saw it and stifled a groan. Moving - just the thought of it - made him hurt. As usual, as soon as the ladder landed, the tether unfastened itself from the ring.

After a moment, when he didn't move, it tugged at the collar at his throat, gently at first, and then increasingly firmer. Finally, unable to resist - or get it to stop - he got up and started to climb.

It hurt. By the time he got to the top of the ladder, blood had run down his arms to drip off his elbows, and his feet were covered, the blood dripping off his heels. He left bloody footprints as he followed Bae away from his prison.

The mutant he didn't know gave him more water, and he drank it down.

"One last place," Bae said, sounding conflicted.

"No," Yesung said, half surprised his voice still worked.

"Yes," Bae said, and tugged gently on the tether. "Come on."

Yesung staggered after him, still fighting, even after the other mutant had bound his hands again. He still didn't know his name.

"This fighting is pointless," Bae said, irritation creeping into his voice.

Yesung didn't respond, resisting as much as he could.

When they pulled up in the middle of a busy square, though, he dug his feet in and struggled harder. So many people he might hurt.

Bae yanked him out of the van, eyes narrowed. "Now is not the time," he hissed.

"You'll hurt someone!" Yesung protested, and the second mutant smacked him in the back of the head.

"They don't matter," Bae said.

"They do!" Yesung retorted.

Bae turned and pointed to a building, about 20 stories tall, mostly made of glass. "That one," he said.

"No!"

Bae pulled on the tether, yanking him forward. It fastened around a bike rack, and no matter how he pulled on it, he couldn't get it free.

"You don't have a choice," Bae said, already behind him.

"No," Yesung repeated, but it came out almost a moan as the burning began at his wrists and ankles again.

"Yes." Calm. Implacable.

Yesung started to shake his head, but Bae gripped it again, forcing him to look at the building he wanted destroyed. Yesung fought him, but he couldn't concentrate on both, and he tried harder to keep from screaming.

The worst part was that he'd fought so hard he barely had anything left to resist with. His wrists and ankles burned, and he clenched his teeth harder.

 

"I know where that is!" SoYoung yelled, eyes alight with her talent.

"Let's go," HeeChul said.

SoYoung ran from the room, HeeChul, ShinDong, and Geng right behind. Nicole and Gyuri met them at the car.

"Wait!" JaeJoong called, racing through the door of the garage, Narsha in tow. "You have to take her!" Narsha looked as confused as the rest of them.

"There's no room," HeeChul said.

"Trust me," JaeJoong said. "She has to go. It'll be a disaster if she doesn't."

"I can stay," Gyuri said. "Call so I know what he needs."

ShinDong nodded and gestured for Narsha to get in. "Let's go."

HeeChul started the car, and Geng vanished. They were well on their way when ShinDong turned to Narsha. "Did he say anything to you about why you're supposed to come?"

Narsha shook her head. "No. He just grabbed my arm and yanked."

"Typical," ShinDong said.

"No. Go left. Here," SoYoung said, and HeeChul swerved to the left.

"There," HeeChul said, and hit the brakes.

Yesung stood with another man behind him, hands buried in Yesung's hair. Heavy leather cuffs rimmed in red encircled his wrists and ankles. A rope, tied to the bike rack next to him, connected to a heavy collar at his throat.

"He's going to scream," Nicole said, sounding stressed.

"Stop him," HeeChul snapped, even as he got out.

Nicole scrambled out and started toward Yesung. Narsha followed her, her eyes more on Yesung than anything else. He looked like he was in pain, the muscles in his jaw clenched.

The man standing behind him narrowed his eyes. "Scream," he commanded.

Yesung did, opening his mouth and letting out a perfectly normal, human scream of pain. It brought everyone in the square to a stop, and they turned to find out where it had come from.

"No!" the man yelled, and shook Yesung, who didn't notice, clawing at the manacles on his wrists. "You have to destroy it!"

"He can't," Nicole said.

The man glanced at her. "He has to!"

Narsha turned around. "Get him away from Yesung!" she yelled at ShinDong and HeeChul, and turned back.

The man holding Yesung flew backwards suddenly, landing some feet away. Before he could get to his feet, his hair caught fire. Another man jumped out of a nearby van, a towel in his hands, and put the fire out. As soon as it was out, both froze, looking like living, terrified statues.

Yesung collapsed to hands and knees, sobbing, fresh blood coating his hands and feet. He strained backwards. Narsha ran toward him, dodging around Nicole. The rope tying him to the bike rack flared and parted just as she reached him. Yesung nearly fell, then scrambled to his feet and staggered away.

"Yesung," she said, mindful of the crowd gathering, many of them on cell phones. They needed to get him out of here before something else happened. He stopped, half turning, tangled hair falling over his eyes. "Come with me. We can take you back home."

He turned more toward her, eyes still wild. "Home?" He didn't seem to know her.

"Yes. Back to the school." She moved closer; he flinched but didn't take a step away. "Gyuri is waiting to help you feel better. And everyone is worried about you."

Behind her, a car started, but she didn’t take her eyes off Yesung. He, on the other hand, looked away from her as the car drove away. "Everyone?" he repeated, suddenly less tense - if not by much - and the wildness seeped out of his eyes.

"Yes. It looks like those hurt. We can get them off." They would. She didn't know how, yet, but he would be free of those.

He looked down, fingers picking at the manacles again.

"Please," she said, stepping forward again. She could hear the sirens from the emergency vehicles getting close, and they needed to get out of here. "Someone will be able to get those off, and we want you back home. You'll be safe there."

Yesung hesitated. "Narsha-noona?" he asked, looking up through tangled bangs again.

"Yes," she said, relieved. "Please. Come with me?"

He reached out a hand covered in drying blood, and she took it, leading him back to the car. She noticed the van was gone - probably why he'd relaxed - and figured Geng and Nicole had taken it. HeeChul stood by the drivers side door, and ShinDong leaned on the front of the car, looking more relaxed than he probably was. Narsha helped Yesung get in the back seat, ShinDong got in, and HeeChul took off just as the emergency vehicles arrived.

Yesung leaned against her, shaking. Narsha put her arm around him, and gently smoothed his tangled hair. No one spoke all the way back.

Gyuri waited for them with a gurney, and HeeChul and ShinDong maneuvered Yesung out of the car and onto it. He looked exhausted, eyes barely open. "Water?" he asked.

"I'll get some," Narsha said, and took off at a run.

"A lot!" Gyuri called after her.

By the time she got back to the infirmary, Yesung lay on one of the beds, an IV in his arm. Narsha opened the first bottle and gave it to him. He gulped it down in what had to be record time, but the nurse said nothing when Narsha handed him the second one.

"How do we get these off?" she asked, when he slowed down with the third one.

Gyuri shrugged. "I'm not sure. I've got an idea, though…. Would you get Yoochun?"

Narsha stared at her, then left the room, breaking into a run as soon as she got to the hallway.

She found YooChun and KyuHyun in the teacher's lounge, sharing a couch and watching a movie. "Yoochun," she said, leaning over the back of the couch. "Gyuri needs you in the infirmary."

Yoochun straightened and shared a glance with KyuHyun. "They found Yesung-hyung?"

"Yes. Please?"

"I'm coming."

Narsha spun and ran back to the infirmary. It did not surprise her to see that KyuHyun had followed them.

"What do you need?" Yoochun asked, once he'd gotten his breath back.

Gyuri explained tersely about the manacles and collar. "If you can leave the IV in, and phase him out of those, that would be perfect. If you can't, I'll replace it."

Yoochun looked at Yesung seriously. "He's asleep?"

"Sedated. He's in a lot of pain. I thought it best."

Yoochun nodded. "Okay." He pulled the light blanket off Yesung. "Hyun-ah, take his feet. Noona, his left hand, since you're there, and the collar. Gyuri, his right. As soon as I tell you to, get them off him." They all positioned themselves, hands on the manacles assigned to them. Yoochun took Yesung's hand, standing next to Gyuri, and focused. "Ready? Three, two, one…. Now!"

Narsha yanked the horrid things away, dropping them immediately. She heard more thuds as the others did the same. Yesung looked so much better with those things off him. "What is that?" she asked, her hand hovering over the deep red, blistered band on his wrist.

"Burns. They burned him," Gyuri said. "That's why he's so thirsty."

Narsha stared at her, horrified. "That's how they got him to scream?"

Gyuri nodded. "I think so."

Narsha felt like she wanted to throw up. How could someone….

"Is that everything?" Yoochun asked. He stood with KyuHyun near the door, their hands clasped.

"Yes, oppa. Thank you for coming so quickly."

"So now we wait?" Narsha asked when they'd gone.

"We wait," Gyuri agreed. "Why don't you go get something to do, or take a nap? He's going to be asleep for a while, and I can make sure you're alerted when he gets up."

Narsha pulled a chair closer to the bed. "Maybe later," she said.

Gyuri stifled a smile, and left the room.

 

Yesung woke slowly. It gave him time to look around, to realize he was NOT in that oubliette any more. He lifted one arm - it moved freely - and sighed in relief to see the weight on his wrist was bandages. He touched his throat, thankful that the collar was also gone.

When he put his hand back down to his side, it brushed something, and he lifted his head.

Narsha slept in the chair, her head on her folded arms on the bed. He vaguely remembered her, in the haze of pain and determination not to hurt anyone. He couldn't reach her hand, so he took hold of her wrist, and lay back again, utterly exhausted. It would take him forever to recover from this. Before long, he dozed off.

Movement woke him again, and he opened his eyes. Narsha brushed her hair out of her face, and smiled at him. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

Feeling? "Less in pain," he murmured. "How did you get the collar off?"

"Yoochun," she explained. "He phased you out of all of them."

"I'll thank him later," Yesung said. "Thank you for coming to get me."

Narsha tilted her head. "You know," she said, "I wasn't in the original team, to go and get you."

Yesung closed his eyes. "No?"

"No. My talent, in this case, wouldn't have been much help."

"So, why were you there?" And why are you still here?

"JaeJoong," Narsha said. Yesung opened his eyes. "He didn't give me - or anyone else - much choice. He insisted I go with them, and he's been right too often for anyone to protest it. I was glad," she added after a moment. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Yesung smiled. "I'm not," he said. "But I'm glad you were there."

She straightened. "Really? Why?"

Yesung closed his eyes, remembering. "I only stopped because it was you," he said, and opened them again. "Nicole… she was there, right?" Narsha nodded. "I don't know her that well, and ShinDong or HeeChul-hyung… would have scared me more."

Narsha smiled. She pulled her wrist from his grip and took his hand. "You don't know me that well, either," she said.

Yesung flushed. "Not yet," he murmured, looking at their clasped hands. He liked the feel of her hand in his.

"ShinDong is unhappy with you," she said, and the change of subject threw him for a moment. "You left your phone here."

Yesung snorted and looked at her, amused. "I bet unhappy is an understatement."

Narsha laughed. "Yes, but he won't do anything until you can defend yourself."

Yesung liked her laugh. He wanted to see her do it again. Many times. "I don't have much of a defense," he admitted. "I just… wanted peace and quiet." It had become nearly impossible to keep his eyes open.

Narsha squeezed his hand. "Just sleep," she said softly. "Get better."

He didn't ask her to stay, although he wanted to, and fell asleep with her hand still in his.

 

"Are you sure?" Kibum asked.

Yesung had recovered enough that he wasn't sleeping all the time, but not so much that they let him out of the infirmary. He sat on his bed there, picking idly at the bandages on his wrist. "Yes," he said. "I want to know why. Why he did this, why he chose me…." He shrugged.

"Okay," Kibum said. "And Narsha?"

Yesung's face flooded with color. "Narsha?" he repeated, trying to act as if he hadn't just gone bright red.

"Yeah. She stayed down here most of the time until you started acting like a normal human being. Well, normal for you," Kibum said with a smirk.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Kibum smirked. "You need a girlfriend."

Yesung scowled at him. "I do not."

"Someone has to keep track of you, and she's nice. And," he added, overriding Yesung's protest, "she'll give you a reason not to take off like that without telling someone."

Yesung folded his arms and glared at him. Kibum laughed. "It won't kill you to admit you like her."

"I have," Yesung said. "My memory is… confused, but I think the only reason I didn't run as soon as HeeChul freed me is because she talked me out of it."

"And you told her that?"

"Yeah."

"Good," Kibum said. "Progress."

Yesung rolled his eyes. "Shut up and go away," he said, and lay down. "I'm sure ChangMin can think of something to do with you."

Kibum laughed again. "All right," he said, and stood up. "Rest well. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye," Yesung said. As soon as the door closed behind his friend, he closed his eyes. Maybe Kibum is right, he thought, flexing his empty hand. Maybe I do need a girlfriend.

 

Narsha sighed, set her book down, and glanced at Yesung. He slept - still healing, still recovering, Gyuri said - so she got up and went looking for JaeJoong and some answers.

She found him outside, some distance from the school, laying under a tree, hands behind his head. "Hey. Are you busy?"

He looked at her, then sat up. "I've been expecting you."

She sat down in front of him and smiled. "Precognition?"

"No. I figured you'd be curious. How is Yesung-hyung?"

"Recovering. Getting better," she said. "Why did you say I needed to go with them?"

JaeJoong leaned back on his hands. "Because it would have been bad if you hadn't."

"Bad how?"

He took a deep breath. "As soon as HeeChul let him go, he would have gone on into the square, and eventually gotten out of Nicole's range. And then he would have screamed. The damage would have… would have been extensive. And getting him back here…." He smiled thinly at her. "Just adding you changed… everything."

Narsha furrowed her brow. "Changed everything?"

JaeJoong smiled. "No one hurt. No buildings destroyed. And, in spite of Gyuri not being there, less damage to him. Both physical and mental."

Narsha leaned back and crossed her ankles. "You think he wouldn't have been normal."

JaeJoong snorted. "There is nothing normal about Yesung-hyung."

Narsha smiled.

"He would have been… very different," JaeJoong said after a moment. "I don't think it would have been an improvement."

Narsha sighed. "Hopefully, this hasn't changed him too much."

JaeJoong smiled. "I don't think so."

"Good," Narsha said. "I like him, weird and all, as he is."

"Yes," JaeJoong said. "Me, too."

 

Yesung closed his eyes against the sunlight, enjoying the feel of it on his face. Gyuri - and the nurse - had finally allowed him out of the infirmary. The first thing he did was commandeer a lounge on the back porch of the school, and he lay there now. He brushed his fingers idly along the scar on his wrist, a wide band of healed burn. He couldn't feel the touch, but Gyuri thought they could fix that, too. It would take a while, though; healing sessions took a lot out of her, and more out of him.

"You look a lot better," Kibum said, and Yesung looked up at him.

"Yeah?"

Kibum sat down on a nearby chair. "Much."

Yesung smiled wryly. "Where's your other half?"

"He's inside, working with some of the students."

Yesung nodded. "Better him than you?"

Kibum laughed. "Yes. Definitely."

Yesung closed his eyes. "I take it you went to see Bae," he said.

"Yes."

"What did he say?"

"The business man he went after raped his sister. She tried to commit suicide. Bae found her in time, barely, to save her life," Kibum said.

"And his friend?"

"Their cousin. He's the one that had control over the temperature. Bae's other sister is the one that kept you grounded." Kibum sighed. "They chose you because your power is destructive enough, and they figured that between the three of them they could keep you under control - as opposed to, say, Heechul-hyung."

"So, nothing personal." Yesung didn't know if it were better that way or not. "Just… revenge for his sister's rape."

"Yes." Kibum fell silent for a while. "I asked him what the difference was between what Lee-sshi did to his sister, and what he did to you. He… couldn't answer me."

"No," Yesung said, opening his eyes and looking at him. "I'm not surprised."

Kibum smirked, and Yesung nearly winced. "Where's Narsha?"

"Teaching. Why?"

Kibum smirked. "You need a girlfriend."

Yesung rolled his eyes and looked at him balefully. "Maybe, but without your help, thanks."

Kibum laughed.

 

"I think I like this new habit of yours, to spend time outside," Narsha said, sitting down next to Yesung on the dock. He'd only ventured out there because he knew KyuHyun wasn't currently at the school, and Yoochun usually didn't hang out at the lake without him.

He looked at her. "Oh? Why?"

"You're not so pale," she said promptly. "Besides, being stuck inside all the time is bad for you. Even Miryo spent more time outside when she was at school than you do."

"I'm not at school," Yesung said.

Narsha brushed his shoulder with hers. "You live at one," she teased, and he laughed.

"Yes, that's true, but I'm not exactly studying here."

"Which means you should get outside more than the students, and you don't," Narsha said.

Yesung leaned back on his hands. "Why are you watching me so closely?" he asked.

"I'm worried about you," she said.

"Why?"

Narsha took a deep breath, and let it out. "I want to make sure you're mentally recovered, as well as physically," she said.

Yesung frowned thoughtfully. "Why?"

"I like you the way you are, weird and all," she said. "I don't want them to have changed you. Oh, I expect some change, because you can't go through something like that and not change, but I hope it hasn't ruined your personality."

Yesung blinked at her, then smiled, sat up, and took her hand. She leaned against him, and they looked out over the lake together.


End file.
